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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Illinois (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
369 Degrees Awarded
$19,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 10,951 people earned their degree in communication and media studies, making the major the 74th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 392 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 369 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in communication and media studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and media studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Illinois (With Aid)

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s media studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid list, UIUC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UIUC

#2

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Governors State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. GSU is a public institution located in University Park, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GSU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $12,077 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid per year to attend GSU.

Full Governors State University Communication & Media Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #3 spot on the list. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s media studies degrees to 77 students in 2019-2020.

SIUE also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $14,423 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid per year to attend SIUE.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#4

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Normal, Illinois, this large public school handed out 67 degrees to qualified bachelors’s media studies students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $20,895 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Illinois State University

#5

University of St Francis

Joliet, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St Francis landed the #5 spot on the list. University of St Francis is located in Joliet, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s media studies degrees to qualified students.

University of Saint Francis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of St Francis is $17,538 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at University of Saint Francis

#6

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Olivet Nazarene University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Olivet Nazarene is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s media studies degrees to qualified students.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #6 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene is $20,195 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Olivet Nazarene University

#7

North Park University

Chicago, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

North Park University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. North Park University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s media studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at North Park, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,170 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students with aid per year to attend North Park.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full North Park University Communication & Media Studies Report

#8 in overall quality

Trinity International University - Illinois came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. TIU Illinois is located in Deerfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 bachelors’s media studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at TIU Illinois, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Trinity International University - Illinois is $21,204 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Media Studies students with aid.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at TIU Illinois

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Media Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 128 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $30,090 for illinois bachelor’s degree media studies students with aid per year to attend DePaul University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul Communication & Media Studies Report

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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